The Best People

• Access to a wider talent pool and improved reputation with all disabled candidates

1 in 5 people available for work in the UK has a disability [i]

One in five disabled people are unemployed but want to work; this compares to one in 15 of non-disabled people [ii]

Recruitment of the best people for the job, not the most convenient for the recruitment process

Many employers aim to be “employers' of choice” but still find it very difficult to turn 'lip service' into recruitment of more 'non-standard' candidates.

Developing disability confidence helps to ensure that recruiting managers are focused on recruiting talented individuals who can do the job, rather than on personal characteristics which are irrelevant to the person's ability to do the job.

Higher rates of retention & reduced costs from ill health retirement & associated recruitment and training costs

33% of workers aged 50 - 64 have a disability [iii]

Employers can save between £80,000 – £150,000 per employee, through improving retention of valued employees who become disabled [iv]

Higher productivity and reduced costs

Ability to exploit the enabling potential of technology

A standardised approach to IT limits human potential, causes disability and is increasingly out of date.

62% of all adults would benefit from software access features developed for disabled people, such as alternative keyboards and mice, voice recognition technology and flexible software, and would be more productive if their employers were more aware of the potential of enabling technology [v]

Better people management and increased supervisor skills

3.4 million disabled people are in work [vi]

Research shows that training supervisors in effectively managing disability improves employee relations, reduces sickness absence and builds managerial skills [vii]

Developing disability management skills helps create managers who can get the best from employees on flexible schedules and managing according to individual need.

Virtually all HR managers say their management teams need new flexible working skills but only one in eight provide this [viii]

Older workers (those aged 50 and over) wanted increased flexibility in the period running up to state retirement age and the option to continue working after this time [ix]

• Reduced health & Safety costs, inc. lower accidents costs, fewer lost working days, lower incidence of work related disability
• Healthy enabling environment & reduced sickness absence
• Efficient use of people through timely provision of reasonable adjustments leading to increased productivity

Employers can make a typical saving of £2,000 in return to work and increased productivity for one individual by making timely interventions to identify and put in place reasonable adjustments [x]

61% of companies scoring over 75% on the Disability Standard have reasonable adjustments policies in place compared to only 22% of companies, which scored below the Benchmark average [xi]

• Improved employee morale as people realise they themselves would be more likely to be treated fairly should they become disabled

In the Great Place to Work Best Workplaces 2005 list, 96% of employees of the Top Ten Best Workplaces felt that people in their organisations were treated fairly regardless of disability, compared to 89% of employees for organisations, which did not make the list [xii]

Satisfied and engaged workers are more productive workers, leading to increases in customer satisfaction [xiii]

Innovative product and service offering

• Better designed, user-centred goods and services

Any group that is currently excluded from the process of innovation could have something to offer, but including disabled people, who are proven innovators, is likely to be even more effective [xiv]

• Clear and accessible communications, which are easier for everyone to read and understand
• Greater knowledge of the spectrum of customer experience leading to better risk analysis when making changes to product/ service offerings

Outstanding customer relationships, satisfaction and retention

Open 4 All - Greater access to a significant and growing market

The spending power of disabled people is estimated to be £80 billion [xv]

42% of people over 65 have a disability and this age group hold most of the nation's wealth [xvi]

Improved customer care for everyone

Disability aware staff will be more focused on customer need and flexible service.

Three quarters of employers surveyed in 2005 say that they want to improve customer service through a greater understanding of disabled colleagues and customers [xvii]

Improved reputation with disabled customers, their friends and family

1 in 3 people is disabled or close to someone who is [xviii]

Stronger stakeholder relationships & reputation

Stronger offering to business and public sector clients with diversity procurement standards

Disability confident businesses are better placed to take commercial advantage of cultural shift in the public sector - including: Public sector duty to promote equal opportunities for disabled people; Increasing disability requirements of procurement policies in the state sector worldwide.

Reduced legal risk

Anti-discrimination, such as the DDA and EC Directive, as well as human rights legislation worldwide protects disabled people as employees, customers and citizens. Being disability confident lifts you out of the legal risk zone no matter where you operate.

Sources

1. [i] Labour Force Survey, Spring 2005
2. [ii] Labour Force Survey, September 2005
3. [iii] Labour Force Survey, Spring 2005
4. [iv] Estimate from BT quoted by Churchill, Minty and Friend
5. [v] Microsoft/ Forrester research, 2003
6. [vi] Labour Force Survey, Spring 2005
7. [vii] Glenn Pransky, Liberty Center for Disability Research
8. [viii] LFF Research, 2005
9. [ix] Loretto et al, 2005, quoted in 'Britain's Hidden Brain Drain, EOC, 2005
10. [x] Churchill, Minty and Friend case study, 2005
11. [xi] Disability Standard, 2005.
12. [xii] Great Place to Work Institute 2005
13. [xiii] Harter, Schmidt, Hayes, Journal of Applied Psychology in 2002, drawing on Gallup's client surveys, which covered 198,514 workers in 7,939 business units from 36 companies.
14. [xiv] Demos
15. [xv] DWP, December 2004
16. [xvi] Labour Force Survey, Spring 2005
17. [xvii] Dewson et al, New Deal for Disabled People , Survey of Employers, IES, November 2005
18. [xviii] Office of National Statistics Census 2001